The Middlest daughter (her term for herself)–she’s in second grade–just discovered for a report she’s doing that part of Niagara Falls is in Canada. She’s pretty mad about it. Pretty much causus belli is her view.

Perhaps you could tell her about what happened in the ‘forgotten’ war – the one that Americans either don’t know of, or simply prefer never to mention? You know – the one when the USA generously tried to liberate Canada from (ahem) the crushing tyranny of British rule.

Oh, Bruce. We’re not all ignoramuses on this side of the pond, U.S. television and movies notwithstanding. I regret our failure to liberate the Canadians, and continue to believe Saskatchewan and Manitoba would make swell state names.